DISPATCHES By Hank Kalet From box sets to politics, the soundtrack of 2004 offers new tunes from old faves that don’t disappoint.
I have to say, 2004 was a pretty good year for music lovers.
There have been an array of interesting box sets Nirvana, the release of the first four American Beatles albums on disc, several collections of Bob Marley’s music and some great new bands Franz Ferdinand, Los Lonely Boys, The Killers and country singers Julie Roberts and Gretchen Wilson.
And there has been an infusion of politics as performers as different as Eminem and John Mellencamp offered pointed critiques of the current state of the world. Even the year’s best disc, Buddy Miller’s gospel-themed "Universal United House of Prayer," bristles with a political energy that might seem surprising at a time when we’ve become conditioned to view evangelical Christians as politically conservative.
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So, rather than belabor the point, here is my list of the 10 best discs of 2004:
1. Buddy Miller, "Universal United House of Prayer" (New West Records).
This is the album of the year, a near-perfect mix of gospel, country and blues, turned hard and edgy by Mr. Miller’s expert guitar playing, a disc that passionately expresses a version of Christianity that is open to the outside world. Unlike the reductive, narrow-minded and intolerant interpretations expressed by right-wing politicos like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, Buddy Miller offers an ecstatic, compassionate expression of a real faith that he believes exists within this imperfect world.
Opening with the grinding, keening blues of "Worry Too Much" and its catalog of dangers and bad news, Mr. Miller refuses to shy away from the pain or to retreat from the world. On songs like "Wide River to Cross" he proclaims his fallibility, reaching for something greater than himself, declaring his belief. "I have stumbled, I have strayed," he sings, admitting his fragility which is refreshing, and so at odds with the kind of unthinking steadfastness shown by our president, a man who regularly explains his actions in religious terms and won’t admit his own fallibility.
The centerpiece of the disc is a majestic nine-minute version of Bob Dylan’s antiwar anthem, "With God On Our Side." In Miller’s hands and within the context of this disc the song becomes an indictment of politicians who use religion as a weapon against their enemies.
Buddy Miller’s testament to his faith is, in the end, a testament to humanity and our ability to reach beyond even the direst circumstances and survive.
2. Steve Earle, "The Revolution Starts Now" (Artemis)
"The Revolution Starts Now" kicks off with a driving guitar and lyrically thumbs its nose at the American power structure. It is Steve Earle’s definition of patriotism writ large across 11 songs, moving from simple statement to the stories of the people who are paying the price for official mendacity in George W. Bush’s America. There is the trucker facing a difficult road back from a mission in Iraq ("Home to Houston") and the poor around the globe ("Rich Man’s War") and the spiritual hymn to his own eternal optimism ("The Seeker"). By turns angry and hopeful the title song combines both the disc is a simple statement of purpose, a political statement, a reminder that change is within our grasp, that we are the ones who must make it happen.
3. U2, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" (Interscope)
A lot has been written about this record. It is, to sum up the critics, a great pop record and a return to their stadium-rock roots. I can’t really argue with the broad outlines, but I think it is a lot more, as well. The opening song the single, "Vertigo" explodes from the speakers and never lets up, leaving the impression that it was written to be played loud and live, hearkening back to pre-"Rattle and Hum" days. And there definitely are strands of the band’s earliest sound, echoes of "Joshua Tree" and "Unforgettable Fire," but this also is a record that has digested the band’s foray into electro-pop, which come out in the subtle touches, in the production, in the sounds behind the songs.
4. Wilco, "A Ghost is Born" (Nonesuch)
Wilco continues its wonderful descent into the world of ambient sound, crafting what is the illogical extension of 2002’s "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," a sometimes difficult but lush intersection between pop, folk and experimental sounds. This time out, the band offers a disc that is exquisite, experimental, sometimes off-putting, but always interesting. The difference lies in the way aural space is used: Where "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" was dense, the soundscape crammed with odd blips and sound effects that filled in the rare gaps in the music, "A Ghost is Born" is sparse, allowing the instruments spindly, nervous guitars, idiosyncratic keyboards to explore, to get lost in the songs as they attempt to work out their own directions.
5. Cake, "Pressure Chief" (Sony)
There are no pretensions on Cake’s fifth outing, a spasmodic foray into the absurdity of American life that winks and nods along with a fresh sense of humor, edgy rhythms and guitar work punctuated by the regal sound of a trumpet. I always know what I’m getting when I pick up a Cake album and I am never disappointed.
6. Loretta Lynn, "Van Lear Rose" (Interscope)
Loretta Lynn joins forces with blues-punker Jack White in the unlikeliest pairing of the year and the results are stunning a raw and honest work that surprisingly has garnered some play on conventional country radio. Mr. White provides an energetic impulse on the disc with his burning guitar and crystal clear production, but it is Ms. Lynn’s voice that carries this record to the heights.
7. Old 97s, "Drag It Up" (New West)
The Old 97s’ latest disc is in many ways a return to their roots, but a return that shows off the lessons learned from the band’s 2001 foray into alt-country pop, the beautiful "Satellite Rides." The 13 tracks on "Drag It Up" swing through stylistic changes and attitude adjustments, but never leaving behind the sense of desperation at the core here.
8. R.E.M., "Around the Sun" (Warner)
The Athens band offers an understated effort this time out, one that shows a mournful concern for the direction in which the country is heading. The quietness of songs like the title cut and "Aftermath" are obvious responses to current events, though the lyrics on some of the songs mask their connection in narratives of love lost and connections broken. In that way, the disc resembles the great "Automatic for the People," though filtered through the band’s recent obsession with atmospherics and electronics.
9. Elvis Costello, "The Delivery Man" (Lost Highway)
Elvis Costello uses his rock voice on this solid new outing. Not as loud or intentionally abrasive and atmospheric as his last rock record, the sublime "When I Was Cruel," "The Delivery Man" is a raw and energetic mix of country that explores the intersections of love and anger, obsession and despair. Elvis is in fine voice, the Imposters show their range and country singers Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris offer perfect touches of harmony and grace.
10. Chuck Prophet, "Age of Miracles" (New West Records)
"Age of Miracles" is sly and bluesy, with an edge of country and a lot of attitude. The oddly atmospheric yet earthy production washes over Mr. Prophet’s remarkable guitar playing and quirky lyrics that focus on the disconnections created by modern life, its stifling falsity and his desire for something more real. Mr. Prophet’s mumbling, quavering baritone folds into the blues-based country rock to create a disc that is unlike most of what is on the radio these days.
Hank Kalet is managing editor of the South Brunswick Post and The Cranbury Press. His e-mail is [email protected].

